To follow new DVLA guidelines or not?

[chaser]

Just for reference this is the one iv done and got changed

 

[Next Stop]

I'll be good to get some real examples of what the DVLA have recently passed and failed to see how strict these new rules are.?

Edit: thanks Chaser ?

 

[tonyidle]

The key words in the DVLA note: '..intended to provide guidance on what DVLA expects...'

In other words, not absolute requirements.

I would say the majority of professionally produced campervans and motorhomes do not come with an awning or awning rail as standard. Our Rapido van certainly doesn't have one and nor did our previous Chausson coachbuilt.

And there are campervans from some of the largest converters that only have one side window on each side eg various Dreamer (Rapido) models:

Découvrez le D43 Up, un fourgon parfait pour vous évader

www.dreamer-van.fr

Van 4 places, penderie et salle de bain, fourgon aménagé modulable

www.dreamer-van.fr

Fourgon aménagé 4 places tout confort avec salle de bain fixe

www.dreamer-van.fr

Why not send in photos of what you have done and ask if there's anything else they require? As chaser suggests they are mainly concerned that it really is a camper. I too read their guidance as just that.

 

[chaser]

Inside

 

[chaser]

From the back

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[chaser]

Another one we did and got passed when it was done

 

[34127]

One thing I notice nobody has mentioned is that speed limits are lower for vans than for motor homes.

Even that is confusing according to the DVLA guidelines. I have heard of someone who spoke to the DVLA and asked does that mean the higher speed limits that apply to motor caravans will also apply to a vehicle that has not had the body type changed but meets the following criteria.

It is important to remember that even if the vehicle’s body type is not changed to ‘motor caravan’, the vehicle can still be used for this purpose as long as the keeper is satisfied the converted vehicle meets the required internal features for motor caravans.

The DVLA reply was yes it does but he has now written to the DVLA to get confirmation on this.

Another odd thing about speed limits for motor caravans is that it depends upon the unlaiden weight but the authorities will not know what the unladen weight is for a particular vehicle and therefore won't know which speed limit applies.

 

[Brains]

Bottom line is that as from October 2019 the "Stealth" camper van is no longer legal.

The old days of chucking a camping stove and and mattress in the back of a van and 'doing Europe' in a summer have now gone.

 

[chaser]

Bottom line is that as from October 2019 the "Stealth" camper van is no longer legal.

The old days of chucking a camping stove and an mattress in the back of a van and 'doing Europe' in a summer have now gone.

No, they have not gone, you can still do that if you want, it's just that you can't get it changed to motorhome on the v5.
I don't know about other regs but I do know for a fact , if you go on the tunnel a van is the same price as a motorhome providing you don't go freight.

 

[PeteH]

View attachment 346638
From the back

It`s a lot of years since I did examinations for Calor. So bear with me. Is that installation of the gas cylinder(s) within storage reg`s?. Fixed "drop" holes in the floor come to mind for one?, and sealed to the interior for another?. I can see they are secured.

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[chaser]

It`s a lot of years since I did examinations for Calor. So bear with me. Is that installation of the gas cylinder(s) within storage reg`s?. Fixed "drop" holes in the floor come to mind for one?, and sealed to the interior for another?. I can see they are secured.

Yeah we have had this discussion before when I was doing it, that photo was when it was still being built, I now have a gasit bottle and a calor in there, and yes I have drop outs and the locker is metal lined and sealed around.
But actually gas safety doesn't come into the DVLA regs and a lot of vans you see just have a bottle shoved under the sink.

 

[Coolcats]

Me and my girlfriend are in the process of converting a 2011 Ford Transit Jumbo into a home on wheels ready for a long trip round europe next summer.

We were nearing completion and found out last week that they have changed the guidelines to change the V5 logbook from a 'panel van' to a 'motor caravan'.

If you have not seen these guidelines the link to Gov website is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...van/converting-a-vehicle-into-a-motor-caravan

We were following the now old guidelines to a tee and had every intention of changing it to a motor caravan on the logbook. But now they have introduced these new guidelines we do not meet them. The main problem we are facing is a second window on one side of the van (we have one on each side). And we didn't want to fork out for an awning and did not want to put any vinyl stickers on the exterior.

Now the question is do we rip out part of what we have done to add a window, get and awning and add stickers to meet the guidelines or just carry on doing what we were doing and not have it as a camper on the logbook?

Our main concern is resale (will it put potential buyers off) or will people not care if it looks and works like a campervan?

If you want to have the log book stating its a motorhome / camper van then you have to follow the guidelines, if not it shortens the queue of potential buyers when you come to sell it. You need to check if you can insure said Van as a Camper van etc etc

 

[Blackadder]

There are a couple of letters about this in this month's MMM magazine, plus a comment from DVLA suggesting that they are considering a change in their interpretation of the new rules in view of huge increases in refusals to re-register.

 

[mitzimad]

OP you need to read carefully what is required and try to conform , then submit , if its refused then you can either modify and resubmit , or use it and test and insure it as a campervan . DVLA have already stated that body appearance (van with windows) on V5 will not affect any legal issues it can still be used as converted , but makes you the can carrier for compliance.

the problem with that is dvla don't tell you why it has failed

 

[pappajohn]

Just for reference this is the one iv done and got changedView attachment 346633

Since the new "guidance" regs or before?

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[PeteH]

Yeah we have had this discussion before when I was doing it, that photo was when it was still being built, I now have a gasit bottle and a calor in there, and yes I have drop outs and the locker is metal lined and sealed around.
But actually gas safety doesn't come into the DVLA regs and a lot of vans you see just have a bottle shoved under the sink.

Top Man . You would be surprised what some people think is OK for gas cylinders. One guy had a Bonfire 2M from his bulk tank, so close in fact it peeled the paint!. Another threw a cylinder on the bonfire!!. (empty, but still??)

 

[chaser]

Top Man . You would be surprised what some people think is OK for gas cylinders. One guy had a Bonfire 2M from his bulk tank, so close in fact it peeled the paint!. Another threw a cylinder on the bonfire!!. (empty, but still??)

When I used to work on building sites , we brewed up with a calor bottle but the yard man wouldn't let us have another till the last one hadn't got a breath in it, so the tea lad turned our " empty " one upside down and left it on to drain it, one of the brickies chucked a fag down and you should have seen the flame it just spread out in a circle enveloping the whole site in a circle of flame , never hurt anyone but the mind boggles at what could of happened.

 

[PeteH]

When I used to work on building sites , we brewed up with a calor bottle but the yard man wouldn't let us have another till the last one hadn't got a breath in it, so the tea lad turned our " empty " one upside down and left it on to drain it, one of the brickies chucked a fag down and you should have seen the flame it just spread out in a circle enveloping the whole site in a circle of flame , never hurt anyone but the mind boggles at what could of happened.

So Many forget, or simply do not know, that most of this category of gases are heavier than air, and without the addition of the "Stench" are also odourless. There was an incident (Spain?) years ago, where it got into the drains, and caused considerable damage when it found an ignition source. I did the "offshore course" back in the early 90`s, and in the firefighting section the fire officer chucked one of the "camping gas" type miniatures onto a fire. the resulting fire column was over a hundred feet high!. and looked like a mini Hiroshima. Very sobering.

 

[chaser]

Since the new "guidance" regs or before?

Before

 

[Bernie P]

I may have missed this being said already (speed read the bulk of replies) but if you have two windows in the habitation area you comply. It states "2 or more windows on at least one side of the main body (this does not include windows on the driver or passenger doors) to provide a reasonable amount of daylight into the living accommodation" That means you can have one on each side or two on one side and none on the other.
The awning rail is just the strip they have round caravans.

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[Mark and Mindy]

We found that DVLA may be getting much stricter in their interpretation and scrutiny for a van conversion. Earlier this year our first van was a professionally converted PVC type van by one of the main van converters and it had more than enough of the usual campervan attributes. To save costs it was a pre-owned van that they converted which meant that once we took ownership we ourselves had to apply to the DVLA for the change to motor caravan. Despite sending a letter from the converter and photographs our first application was refused by DVLA. It was relatively easy to take numerous additional photographs and reapply and this time it was accepted but it was a worrying time for us.

During the time that we were applying to make the change to motor caravan we had issues with our insurer because when we took the policy out the body type designation was panel van which they queried and we explained that be change was going through with DVLA but then due to the delay the insurer queried with us again so we were concerned that we may lose our insurance cover. Thankfully it was all resolved in time.

Mark

 

[gus-lopez]

so that the police or other enforcement officers are able to identify what type of vehicle it is.

??Why & for what reason ?

Bottom line is that as from October 2019 the "Stealth" camper van is no longer legal.

The old days of chucking a camping stove and and mattress in the back of a van and 'doing Europe' in a summer have now gone.

Why ?? no different now to how it has always been.

 

[ambulancekidd]

 

[Val 3 dogs]

gus-lopez I had a"home conversion" done on a panel van back in 2016.
The guidelines then regarding the appearance of the van were so that in the case of an accident, or road traffic offence witnesses could say "I saw a campervan ignore the lights" rather than "it was a commercial van"
My van was an ordinary Ducati panel van, no high roof, awning or decals. I had a sliding window fitted in the sliding door on the passenger side and another in the rear panel on the driver's side. It passed without any problems.

 

[Minxy]

This was the home conversion I did back in 1996 ...

I've never recovered from the smell and fumes from the glue and varnish! ?

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[PeteH]

??Why & for what reason ?
Why ?? no different now to how it has always been.

Answer to both. Because interfering Bureaucrats Love to make life as difficult as possible, in order to generate the paperwork that makes them feel Sooooooo, important. And to feel they are in control of peoples lives. The same reason why all petty "jobsworths" exist.

 

[34127]

??Why & for what reason ?
Why ?? no different now to how it has always been.

The DVLA guidelines answers your first point.
DVLA is required to record vehicle details for road safety and law enforcement. The body type information held on the vehicle record must describe what a vehicle looks like in traffic. This description, as well as other distinguishing features, allows the police and other enforcement agencies to easily identify vehicles.
The body type does not affect the insurance category of the vehicle, or have any effect on speed limits or other legislative requirements. It is only used for establishing vehicle appearance and identification.

 

[Wild Brambles]

I'm still not sure about the decal requirement. It looks as if a thick stripe with an incline to the rear would be sufficient. Is this true in your opinion?

 

[chaser]

I'm still not sure about the decal requirement. It looks as if a thick stripe with an incline to the rear would be sufficient. Is this true in your opinion?

When we did ours, it still stated decals , but mine was exactly as it is now and my son's was just plain white.

 

[Minxy]

I'm still not sure about the decal requirement. It looks as if a thick stripe with an incline to the rear would be sufficient. Is this true in your opinion?

A strips IS a decal isn't it? Now if we're talking 'go faster stripes' that's a different ballgame!

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